Okay, back again to Romans chapter
seven. Before I read the passage again,
I was encouraged last Sunday when
I preached from this passage, Romans 7, 1 through 6, and since
he's not here today, I'll mention his name, but David said, I'm
looking forward to next Sunday. He said he would listen to it
on the, website or whatever, because he figured he would not
be here because of the birth of Levi, which certainly did
happen and we're glad for that. But that just encourages me.
Whether you realize it or not, that encourages me. You know,
when somebody actually, every once in a while, somebody will
say, I want to hear, not just, I heard what you said, that was
great, but I want to hear what you got to say. Yeah, it is unusual. It's unusual. That's an encouragement. Now, let me read Romans chapter
7. Again, one more thing before I read.
May it be. I have something this morning.
But I don't know if I have something for you this morning. I have
something this morning because I know it meant something to
me. Not my preaching. I haven't preached this yet.
But my studying of this passage and God's showing me some things
meant something to me. I have something this morning.
I pray God that it will be something for you as well. Because I can
speak it, in the passage you was from, but it has to be the
Holy Ghost that teaches it. That's what He says. Which things
we speak. And in that sense we are teachers, Joe. But it is
in truth which the Holy Ghost teaches. That's what He says. I can speak it all day long unless
He teaches it to you. You won't get it. Now here are
the words. And listen to the words. Know
ye not, brethren, For I speak to them that know the law." The
reason is, there were, this was probably, and I say it that way
because I just don't have the scriptural proof itself completely,
this was probably a predominantly Gentile assembly. Probably predominantly
Gentiles. And a lot of Gentiles had no
idea what the law really said. But there were some Jews there
and there probably were some Gentiles who did know what the
law actually taught. So he says, know ye not brethren,
for I speak to them that know the law, how that the law hath
dominion over a man as long as he liveth. Now, he's going to
give us an illustration of what he's talking about. for the woman
which hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so
long as he liveth. But if the husband be dead, she
is loose from the law of her husband. So then, if while her
husband liveth, that is the one she married to start with, she
be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. Now, I'm stopping the reading
and I'm saying this, that's still true from the law today. The law hadn't changed even today. I'm saying this to you and most
of you know me and know my past. If you've been married more than
once and your first spouse still living, according to the law,
that's adultery. There is no reprieve from that
law. It hadn't been changed. Still
the same. So then if, while her husband
liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress.
But if her husband be dead, she is freed from that law, so that
she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
If your first husband, speaking specifically of the illustration
Paul gives, if your first husband dies, then the law has freed
you to marry somebody else. But if not, it don't matter.
I don't care how he treated you. I don't care if you had to get
divorced because he's about to kill you and the law put him
in prison. You marry somebody else, the law says you're an
adulterer. Yes or no? Thou shalt not commit adultery. Exodus chapter 20. It doesn't
say unless. But look, wherefore, now he says
there is an exception to that law if the first husband dies.
Right? There's the exception there.
And if the second one dies, marry another one. Third one dies,
marry another one. If a hundred of them die, marry
a hundred and one. I would, if it got up to about
the 10th or 11th, I would be a little weary of being the man
that's marrying this woman that they're all dying. Let it be
that as it may. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become
dead to the law by the body of Christ. And he means exactly
what he says there. That ye should be married to
another, even to him who was raised from the dead. that we
should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the
flesh, the motions of sin, which were by the law, did work in
our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered
from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we
should serve in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of the letter. Now remember what I said last
week. Two things before I go any further. Paul states a clear
and emphatic distinction between this service of the Spirit and
service in the letter. Right? that we should serve in newness
of spirit and not in. That's a clear and emphatic distinction
between the two, right? It's not one will morph into
the other. It's not letter service, law
service, Mosaic Sinai service morphs into spiritual service.
It's not that, is it? It's something totally different. That's right here in the text. You don't need me to interpret.
And I tell you, I try my best never to interpret, but to preach,
thus saith the Lord. Now, secondly, before I go any
further, let me say this. I don't know of one preacher
with whom we have fellowship See that qualification? I don't
know of one preacher with whom we have fellowship that preaches
anything different than what I have read to you this morning. But I know this, there are those
who hear me, Joe, have heard Earl, or hear them preachers
who don't hear them preach this. They only hear part of what those
men preach. They are not hearing all those
men preach. Let me illustrate. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. You can't out-sin God's grace.
Do you know that? But the same is true. Shall we
continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we that are dead to
sin live any longer therein? You may have to live and you
will have to live with it, but you don't live in it. Now, having said that, Somebody
said, well, we're saved by grace. That's exactly right. And grace
really does some saving. It don't just take you to heaven.
It saves people. Two things I want to give you
this morning. Two things. The first one I will
give you in outline form, make a few brief statements and leave
it laying there and you study these things. The second one
we will look at in detail because it's more of what Paul is talking
about in the context. The first one's not, it's indicated
in the context but it's not what Paul deals with in the context.
Here's the two points. First of all I want us to look
at the distinction in the operation of these two services. Spirit
service law service or letter service, however you want to
turn it. The distinction in their operations. Actually, Joe was
preaching about part of that. He had both. Here's the second
one. The distinction in their service itself. I'm not going to try to prove
to you the difference between them two things. The distinction
in their operations. What's the difference between
letter service, law service, and spirit service? And before
I go any further, some say it should be capital S spirit, some
say not. I think it should be small s
because there is no definite article. It is that we should
serve in newness of not the spirit, but spirit, and then it says,
and not in oldness of the letter. So he is identifying the letter
But He says it's Spirit. Now, it is the Spirit of God. But it must take place in a person's
spirit. It's an inward thing. It don't
start out here and work its way in. It starts by God in here
in the Spirit, and then it starts to work its way out. Remember,
our Lord said that men cleanse the outside. They don't worry
about the inside. But the truth is only God can
cleanse the inside. Yeah, men ought to cleanse the
inside, but we can't. We can't. So first, the distinction
in their operations. First of all, law service provides
the oracle only. That is the command or the letter.
That's what Paul means, the letter. The letter of the law kills,
remember? What does it mean? Thou shalt not. And then it gives
the list. Or thou shalt. And it gives a
list, right? The law, this is the difference,
the law service provides the oracle only, that is the command
or the letter. But law service provides no ability,
it provides no life, it provides no will, it provides no affection
for the letter. It is the command only. Deal
with it. Even more, it's a command only,
do it! Or in some cases, don't do this.
That's law service. Here you stand, here I stand,
and the law says thou shalt not. You see what I'm saying? That's
the operation of law service, letter service. There is. It
doesn't give you any ability to do what it says to do. It
doesn't give you any life to do what it says to do. It doesn't
give you any willingness to do what it says to do. It doesn't
give you any affection or love for what it says to do. It just
says do it. Or, in some cases, don't do that. Deliverance by Christ, and that's
what he's talking about here, right? Wherefore, my brethren, ye are
also become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should
be married to another. Do you see it? Deliverance by
Christ, we could say grace. That's fine. Deliverance by Christ
or deliverance by grace provides, and let me give you at least
six things. One, it provides just separation from the law.
Chapter seven, verse four. We're dead to the law by the
body of Christ. Just separation from the law. The law has not
been dishonored. The law has been honored in Christ,
both in its positive aspects and in its negative aspects.
This knew and lived. He was life and he did and he
continued always to be life. He obeyed God. but he also suffered
the law's just condemnation when he hung on that tree. Deliverance
by Christ, or deliverance by grace, provides just separation
from the law. Secondly, it provides union to
Christ. Chapter seven, verse four. Wherefore, my brethren,
ye also become dead to the law by the body of Christ. Yay! Everybody
says yay! Grace, grace, grace! That ye
might be married to another. Therefore, you're not your own,
you're bought with a price. Now, you might not like the illustration
in our newfangled day and age, but let me tell you something.
Back then, and under law, if you were married to a husband,
you belonged to your husband. That's the law. And let me tell
you something, that principle, if you're married to Christ,
you belong to Christ. You are His. You are not your
own. You're bought with a price. Therefore
glorify God where? In your body and your spirit,
which are His. I know how I would respond if
I heard a man say that. Who do you think you are? This
ain't about me. This is about Him. So deliverance by Christ provides,
that is grace provides, just separation from the law. It provides
union to Christ. It also provides a fruit source.
Bring forth fruit unto God. People talk grace, grace, grace,
but they don't care nothing about fruit unto God. As long as I'm
justified and I get to go to heaven, I don't have to go to
hell, I'm glad I'm one of the elect. Really? You don't understand
election. Election is not just about a
choice, it's a choice God made to something. That you're married
to another. Why? For what reason were we
married to another? That, that you should bring forth
fruit unto God. What is that fruit source? You
can look at it sometimes, Galatians 5, 22 and 23. The fruit of the Spirit is. God is the source of this fruit. Fourthly, he provides the fruit
receptacle, the new man. The new man doesn't produce the
fruit. The fruit is a product of God. The new man is a product
of God and he houses the fruit in the new man. And you can look and read the
whole book of Ephesians, but Ephesians 4, 17 through 24, and
specifically this. I will show you where I get this
from. This ain't Walter coming up with
his own little idea. Ephesians 3, look at what it
says. Verse 16, that he would grant
you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened
with might by His Spirit in the inner man. So the inner man's
not the Spirit. The Spirit's not the inner man.
The inner man, according to Ephesians 4, 17 through 24, is a creation
of God, and it's created in righteousness and true holiness. The new man
is perfect. According to John in John 3,
he cannot see. But the new man doesn't produce
fruit. The Spirit Himself produces fruit.
And the Spirit Himself is not just dwelling, He's not dwelling
in your old nature. He's dwelling in your new nature. That's number four. Deliverance
by Christ provides, that is grace provides both will and effort. Philippians 2, 12 and 13. For
it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his
good pleasure. It ain't God ought to, God might,
if you're one of his. If you've been married to Christ,
now listen to what I said, you may be one of his, don't know
you're his. But when he joins you to Christ, you gonna know
it. Of course, you gonna know Christ. He works in those people
what to will and to do. It's good pleasure You see in
the difference between law service and spirit service number six
Grace that is deliverance by Christ grace provides affection
for God Romans 5 5 the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost Not by the new nature, not by you, but by
the Holy Ghost in the new creation, not in the flesh, not in the
old man. The shed are brought in your
hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. There is no comparison
in the operations of the new service and the old service,
is there? Just those six things I've given you. There's no comparison,
Joe. The law says here it is. It deals
with you where you are. And it don't care about your
corruption in Adam. It don't care about your corruption
in yourself. It don't care about your fall.
It don't care about your sin. It says thou shalt not. And that's
all it does for you. Tells you what you're not to
do and tells you what you should do. Grace comes in and it's totally
Different do you see it? Now whether you getting it or
not whether that rejoices you or not it rejoiced me when I
see this There is no comparison in the operations of the new
service of the old service moreover moreover the service itself is
distinct God doesn't save you and give
you the spirit and create a new man within you so that you then
start keeping the law. Somebody says, why? Just because
God was pleased to do it that way. And one thing, the law keeps
reminding us who we really are in and of ourselves. Right down
here in the dust as a bunch of wiggly maggots. He left it there so we remember
the pit from which we were digged. That's one reason. But now let's
look at the distinction in their service. And just bear with me
because this is what I wanted to deal with in detail. We'll
give you a summary of the two, just like I did of the law and
the distinction in their operations. Now we're going to talk about
the distinction in their service itself. I'll give you a summary,
then I'll give you actual examples from Scripture. Here's the summary. First of all, the law demands
service from the whole of man's corrupt being. This all started when I preached
from 1 Timothy 1, 9 and 10. Remember, the law is not made
for a righteous man, but for profane, ungodly people. Sinners. Right? Now, which place in and
of yourself do you have to stand this morning? I have to stand
under that law. I'm not a righteous man. But
you see what Paul is saying, the law deals with you as you
are. Not just where you are, but as
you are. And it provides nothing for your
aid. The law demands service. It demands
it from the whole of man's corrupt being. Now those of you who are righteous
do this, though, it says to anybody that's under it, thou shalt not.
Grace, though, is suited toward the believer's dichotomy. The believer is both old man
and new man. Right? The believer and the believer
only is both old man and new man. even the elect of God before
their regeneration are but one, that's old man. It is not until
God Almighty regenerates an individual and breathes life into their
soul that they then are a dichotomy in this aspect. But grace is
suited toward the dichotomy of the believer. I'll give you the
most evident example first. What does the law say in Exodus
20 verse 15? You don't have to turn to it.
I'll read it for you. Real simple. Thou shalt not steal. Then there's a period after it.
No buts. No but ifs. No and if you do
though, The law says this to you and me, thou shalt not steal. You know what the principle of
the service of grace is? It deals with us where we really
are in both old and new man. Ephesians 4.28, let him that
stole, steal no more. The law don't say that. The law
says you steal death. You steal the electric chair.
I'll just put it metaphorically speaking. You steal death on
the cross. Right? You steal death under
the just condemnation of God. Thou shalt not steal. Grace says let him that stole
deals with you where you are. Do what? Don't worry about it. Just steal some more. You're
under grace. Pick up whatever you need where
you can get it and thank God for it. He's sovereign anyway,
don't you know? You don't get grace. Grace says,
let him that stole do what? Stop stealing. That's easy. That's easy. Here's the thing
though. They're all easy. It's just some
of them we got just a little bit more bent or against. Let me give you another one.
Here's what the law says. But before I give it, think about
this. The service of grace is not a lowering of the standard.
One, we see it's not what's okay to steal. You're under grace,
not under the law. Right? Now, there are people that I've
heard that actually almost talk that way. They say, well, so-and-so
preaches grace, free grace. You're not saved by your works,
so it don't matter what my works are. Oh, really? You don't get it. And this ain't
Walter. I've heard it said. My wife's
had people tell her, I don't believe what Walter preaches.
Well, you've got a problem. Because I'm preaching the truth
of grace and its service. The service of grace is not a
lowering of the standard. It's not a changing of the standard. But it is a different standard.
It's still a different standard, but it's still a standard. As
many as walk according to this rule. And what's that rule? It's neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision. He says both. Had he just said
it's not circumcision, then we could have said, well, let's
all be uncircumcised. Paul said it's not either way.
What's the rule? It's a new creature. A new creation. That's what we talked about under
the operation, you see it? So the law, the service of grace
is not a lowering of the standard. Let me give you another illustration
of it. Law says, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Christ said it that way. Now
you're not going to go back into the Exodus and find it said exactly
that, but Christ said it that way in Mark 12 verse 31 when
asked what's the greatest commandment. He gives the first one, then
the second one he says it's this. It's likened to it, thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. That's the law of service. It
doesn't say you love him as you love yourself until he does this
to you. Does it? It doesn't say love
him as you love yourself as long as he's doing this for you. Love
your neighbor as you love yourself. And in Christ's foot, period. Period. Now you want to read
about grace? Turn to 1 John. I am going to give you, read
to you a passage, 1 John chapter 2, of what most people think
would be a total, absolute conundrum. Now let me just read it first.
1 John chapter 2 verse 7. Are you there? 1 John chapter
2 verse 7. Brethren, I write no new commandment
unto you. And then in the next verse he
says, again, a new commandment I write unto you. Was John confused? Was John mistaken? Had John flipped
his wig? Huh? But the unregenerate see
that. You know what they see? Absolute
opposites. That don't make sense. Those
two things can't go together. They do when you realize what
a dichotomy you are. They do when you realize there's
a law service and there's a grace service. They're not opposed
to one another, but they're still distinct from one another. Love
is not a new commandment. He talks about love here. You
read it for yourself. He talks about love. Love ain't
a new commandment, Joe. But then he said, brethren, look,
brethren, I write no new commandment unto you but an old commandment
which you've heard from the beginning. The old commandment is the word
which you've heard from the beginning again, a new commandment. Years ago I read that and I thought,
that don't make sense. Again, a new commandment I write
unto you. He said again. Again. I'm going to repeat what I just
said. And now he contradicts himself. No. He's talking about
the reality of this dichotomy we are, the dichotomy in ourselves,
and this difference, this distinction between the two services. Both
of them have love. Now wait a minute. Let's go.
Again, a new commandment I write unto you. Which thing is true
in him and in you? Because the darkness is past
and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light
and, what, hateth his brother. Whoa, see this is not a lessening.
The new, when he said now new, again new commandment, it's not
a lessening of the standard. It's actually a heightening of
a standard. But it's a new standard. Do you
see it? It's comparable, but still different. He that saith he is in the light
and hateth his brother, well, he's just backslidden. No, he
is in darkness even until now. He's dealing with men according
to their profession. You're a brother in Christ, you're
a brother in Christ. But if you hate your brother
in Christ, you ain't in Christ. They don't say that it does say
that you just don't see it if you don't see that Look, he that
loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none
occasion of stumbling in him, but he that hateth his brother
is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and no one thought
whether he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. Now if that's not enough, then
he moves on. Forget about the chapter divisions.
He moves on in chapter three and says these words. Verse 11, for this is the message
that ye have heard from the beginning, that ye should what? Love God.
Now look at what? Love what? Love who? One another. Now it's not that the law without,
it don't matter if you love, the law still says love your
neighbors yourself. But we're talking about a different
service here now. What? Love one another. Talking about
believers here. Look, not as Cain, who was of
that wicked one, and slew his brother. And why did he slay
him? Isn't that what it says? Because his own works were evil. Do you ever think about that?
Because his own works were evil and his brother was righteous.
Now wait a minute. He didn't say, and what was his
evil? He slew his brother. No. You
see it? Why did he slay his brother?
Because he had a prior works that were evil. And his brother's
works were righteous. And what was his brother's righteous
work? To offer the blood that God Almighty demanded. And Cain
didn't do so. And the book of God says God
had respect unto Abel first and his offering. And he did not
have respect unto Cain and his offering. And when Cain and Abel
talked about it in the field. Somebody says it doesn't say
that. That's exactly what John is saying here. When Cain and
Abel talked about it, after God had done more in Cain, if you
do right, you'll be accepted. Then Cain and Abel went out into
the field later and talked about it, and Cain killed Abel. Because
he hated where his brother was, and he hated his brother. And he hated his brother's works.
You preaching works, you're dead right. I'm talking about fruit
unto God. I'm talking about service unto
God. I'm talking about serving in
newness of spirit and not in oldness of the letter. Look at
what he says. Marvel not brethren if the world
hate you. We know that we pass from death
unto life because we love the brethren. That's one of the proofs.
But look, he that loveth not his brother abideth in death. And that word in the Greek means
from the get-go right up until even now. While he's saying it
with his mouth in here, he's death. Look, whosoever kills
his brother is a murderer. Well, that would be redundant,
wouldn't it? No, that's not what it says.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. You see the difference
you see the distinction thou shalt not kill grace comes along
so if you just hate him yeah You're already a murder and look
and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in
him thus saith God Do you see the distinction between
the service itself I Grace doesn't enable you to love your neighbor
as yourself. You still don't. But it does
enable you to love your brother. And you know what? The standard
is so high that it says you don't even hate him. If you do. Hear it? If you do, you're a murderer
and you're lost. Your only hope is that God saves
you. Your only hope is God takes you
out from under that corruption. And if Christ died for you, He'll
take you out from under that corruption and He'll marry you
to Christ. And you, by His Spirit, will
then be bringing forth fruit unto God. You'll begin to love
Him whom you hated. You see, a false profession is
not necessarily the end of the line. But a false profession
is that, a false profession. You can talk grace with your
mouth all day long. You can talk election, predestination,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You hate your brother, you're
lost. Now someone says, but you tell
people over here they're wrong. That ain't hating your brother.
Am I your enemy because I tell you the truth? That's the very
love I have for you that enables me to stand in the face of the
odds of you hating me and say, you're dead wrong. You're on
the wrong road. You're on the wrong path. May
you turn from it. May God turn you from it. That's
true love. That's not hate. Well, you won't
fellowship with this one because they believe different. That's
exactly right. But I don't tell them, if you
believe like I do, you're still so bad, I won't fellowship with
you. I don't care what they're guilty of. If God bows them down,
Mason, they're welcome right here in this place to fellowship
with us. I don't care how much they've talked bad about me,
even more, or my Lord. If God bows them to my Lord,
they're welcome to come in here and will be received with full
arms. And they say, we hate people. Just don't get it. Neither hath entered in to the
heart of man. There's the distinction. Grace
is not just don't murder, thou shalt not kill. That you don't
even hate your brother. As a matter of fact, those that
despitefully use you, what are you supposed to do for them?
Pray for them. Feed him. If he's hungry, feed
him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink. But even
then, it may not be to the salvation of his soul. You may just be
heaping coals of fire upon his head. But that's God's business.
Our business is feed and water. Pray. Right? Pray. Do you see the distinction in
the two services? There's another one before I
go to it though. Let me give you this. The service of grace is not licensed
to licentiousness. There's number three. Here's
what the law says. Exodus 20 verse 14. Thou shalt not. Now we've already read this even
in our text. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Period. One of them
real short verses. I look back at it and look at
it. They're all right there. Thou shalt not. It doesn't say unless
or if. Remember, even the provision
for divorce was put in by Moses. Right? That's right. But what about fornication? Christ said Moses gave you that
because of your own hardness of heart, your unwillingness
to forgive. That's law. Law says you join
with one person, period. And even if you are divorced,
Joe, here's what law says, then you stay that way until you die. If that person abandons you,
if that person divorces you, then you stay like you are until
you die. That's what the law says. You want to know what grace says
though, don't you? 1 Corinthians chapter 6. You
know it. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse
9. Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Now that is no less true
than Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3 where it talks about
election. Be not deceived, neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers. Now there is the actual thing
that the law says thou shalt not do, right? nor adulterers,
nor effeminate. Don't be a sissy. And if you're
a man, be a man. Don't be a woman. Nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind. Homosexuality. Nor thieves. nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of
God. Period. Why? Because that's what
the law says. And such were. And such were
some of you But ye are washed. But ye are sanctified. But ye are justified. And then he says, in the name
of the Lord Jesus. That's positional. You didn't
even experience that. You don't even experience that.
That's done absolutely for you. Whether you know about it or
not. in the name of the Lord Jesus, but here's something you
experience, and by, by who? The Spirit. And by the Spirit. This is something you experience.
And by the Spirit of our God. Now turn to Galatians and see
its companion passage. Galatians chapter five. Galatians chapter five and verse
16 and 17 and 18 deal with the operations. of this new service. If you want to look at that.
It deals with operation. But now look at what it says in verse
19. Now the works of the flesh are
manifest and they are these. They haven't changed. Redemption
by Christ didn't change these. God didn't change it so we could
be adulterers and drunks and thieves and covetousness and
then just get to go to heaven. believe in a few doctrines while
we're here, and just have the best of both worlds. Have my
cake and eat it too. No? Now the works of the flesh
are manifest, which are these? He put it first, I didn't. Okay,
but look, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, and as I am prone to do, it's like, all right,
Paul, I get the picture, but he ain't done yet. He keeps on
going and says, heresies, envies, murders, drunkenness, partyings,
revelings, and such like. Of the which I tell you before,
as I've also told you in time past, that they which do such
things. What's he saying? The Greek means
they persist. They persist. Got to keep on. I cannot stop myself. And they're right, they can't.
But you know what will happen to them? They shall not inherit
the kingdom of God. As I said before, you will deal
with your sin for the rest of your life in your old nature,
in your body. You'll deal with it for the rest
of your life, but you don't have to live in it. Because He says,
this I say then, walk in the Spirit and you won't fulfill. the lust of the flesh. You have
the Spirit of God in you. You don't think that he can enable
you to say, no, I will not do that. He works in you both the will
and the do. So if you're got no will, no
doing, evidently, he ain't in you. People need to get off this high
horse. They think, I believe in grace. No, you don't. You
believe in lasciviousness. You're of that group of people
that Jude warns about that turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. Grace lets you do whatever you
want to do. The word means persist. Persist. You persist in these things,
you will perish. Hear me! Hear God. You persist in these things,
you will perish. Paul said to those division elders,
remember, we preach two things. Repentance toward God and faith
toward the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said, the service of grace
is not licensed to licentiousness. Greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world. If there's something you can't
quit doing, then that thing is your dominator, not Jesus Christ. Paul says, I bring my body under. I bring it into subjection. He
didn't mean physically, but this inward thing. Be strengthened
with His might where? In the inner man. The inner man
not only can, but does prevail. Always? No. Why? Because when
we walk in the flesh, what's going to happen? As a believer,
if we walk in the flesh, we're going to give in to it, and we
will end up not just walking in the flesh, you'll not fulfill
the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against
the spirit. If he just stopped there, we'd
have something to say, but he goes, and the spirit against
the flesh. And these are contrary to one to the other, so that
you cannot do the things that you would. In the new man, I
would be always, in every part of my being, perfect. But I can't
be. Why? The old man's still there.
But in the old man, I'd be always, always walking in corruption. But I can't do that either. You
say, I don't get that. Then you've never been saved.
Because if God ever saved you, it don't take long either before
you fight this battle. You might not understand that
to be the battle, but you fight this battle. Constantly raging
in your soul. Let me move on. Time's going. Again, another illustration of
law. Let me read. Let's just read this. Turn to
Mark chapter 12. I hope this all gets on the tape because
David said he wanted to hear it. Mark chapter 12, listen to
what our Lord said. Remember this one scribe came
in and he heard him talking and he said, which is the greatest
commandment? Verse 28, which is the first
commandment of all? Verse 29, And Jesus answered
him, the first of all the commandment is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord
our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with,
what's that next word? All. All thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. The law service demands your
all in all you are. Now what is grace? I don't have
time. I was going to read it. You want to see grace? You want
to see the actual service of grace? Turn some time and read
Luke chapter 7 verses 36-50. I will summarize it this way.
A Pharisee invited our Lord into his home to eat. While he was
there, A piece of crash from down the street, she strolled
in with an alabaster box of ointment and began to cry at Christ's
feet. You remember the account? You remember the account? And
the Pharisee, what did he see? He said, how could this man be
a prophet? He is a prophet. He denoed what kind of woman
this was that was touching him. Huh? See, he was even taking
the law even further. The law doesn't say they can't
touch you. It says for you not to touch them. He was so self-righteous,
I don't even want her up near me. And he said, if this man
was a prophet, he'd have known what kind of woman she was. Our
Lord knew what he was thinking in his heart and mind. And he
asked him a question by proposing something to him. He said, you've
got two people that owe somebody some money. One of them owes
a whole lot, one of them owes a little bit. and neither one
of them has anything to pay. And that man that's owed the
money frankly or freely forgave them both." Now which one, Simon,
do you think will love him most? And Simon said, well, I suppose
the one that was forgiven the most. And you know what our Lord
told him? You answered correctly. You're
right, Simon. Simon answered the question but
still didn't even get it. Because he then turned to the
woman and looked at her and said to Simon, I came into your house
and you did nothing for me. You didn't wash my feet. You
didn't anoint my head with oil. And yet this woman has not ceased. Get it? has not ceased to bathe
my feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. She spent
time and effort and money on Jesus Christ. You know what our Lord said?
He that is forgiven the most will love the most. But what
He was saying to Simon is, Simon, you didn't do nothing for Me
because you don't love Me. But this woman, as pitiful As pitiful as she is, she worships
me. And why? Just by saying a few
words? I believe in this? No. She had that alabaster box
of ointment, summarized by certain things. That was quite a bit
of money in that day. About a year's wage. And brought
in there and poured it upon him. And laid there at his feet and
kept crying, Joe, on his feet. And then wiping it off with her
hair. She loved him. And she loved
him in proportion with the forgiveness he had forgiven her. You see, law says love God with
all you are. Grace causes you to love Him
in proportion with the forgiveness He's bestowed upon you. And if
you don't, you don't love Him. If you're not willing to spend
time and effort and money on Jesus Christ, you don't love
Jesus Christ. That's just the way it is. And
I'm not saying that to be mean to anybody. I'm warning the soul. This is my conclusion. The service of grace flows from
free, sovereign, unwarranted forgiveness. You'll see that
in verse 42. He frankly forgave them both. The whole point Simon
didn't get was Simon. Simon didn't show Christ any
great respect. He just invited him to dinner.
Ain't that good enough? Evidently it wasn't enough. This woman
spit real, this was a whore. And that whore, I figure, where
do you figure that money came from if she bought that alabaster
box of ointment? Probably the job she'd been doing
down the street. Don't you figure? Huh? It don't matter, that's right.
It don't matter. Here's the thing. She knew she
needed forgiveness. She already had it before He
said, Thy sins be forgiven thee. He wasn't forgiving her sins
right then. He'd already forgiven her sins.
He was just letting her know about it. And she already loved
Him before she was even told that. She loved Him whether He
forgave her sins or not. Now think about that. But nobody,
Joe, who loves Him will go away unforgiven. Nobody. Nobody. The service of grace
flows from free, sovereign, unwarranted forgiveness. And frankly, our
Lord's illustration was, when they had nothing to pay, He forgave
them both. The service of grace is in proportion
to forgiveness. You love in proportion with how
God's forgiven you. It's balanced and it's harmonious. The service of grace has Christ
as its central object. If what you care about is doctrine,
you don't know Him. If what you care about is Him,
He will in time as you go along, He will teach you doctrine. It is no marvel then to me that
Paul declared, therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature. Old things. Huh? See it? Old things. Romans 7
verses 1, 2, and 3. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become what? New. Even the operations is new. The service is new. It's all
new. The old service, the letter,
what does it do? It kills. New service flows from
deliverance by Christ. I don't just like that. I've
got to have that. I've got to have that. I've got
no other hope but that. Father, oh God teach us these
things. And God cause us to rejoice in
them. But even more than that Lord, enable us by your Spirit
to speak of them. to speak of it to others, to
warn, to reprove, to rebuke, to comfort, whatever it might
be, Lord. Enable us by Your grace, through
Christ Jesus and by Your Spirit. Amen. Thank you, Joe.